Wall covering



June 5, 1923. 7 1,457,909

M.- B. LLOYD WALL COVERING FiledJune .5, 1920 2 sneaks-sheet 1 fmemw' lfa/w/hallli Lzoyd June 5, 1923. msww M. LLOYD WALL COVERING I FiledAJune 5, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 NeEeHeLL B. L L. 0729 BY Patented June 5, i923.

, p nsane-e MARSHALL 1B. LLOYD, 0F l EENUI iIINL E, ILZZCELEGAN, ASSIGNOB, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO IiEEYWOOID-WAKEFIELDCOMPANY, 033 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A GOR- PORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

WALL COVERING.

Application filed June 5, 1920. Serial No. 386,830.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARSHALL B. LLOYD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Menominee, county of Menominee, and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in l/Vall Coverings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates generally to improvements in wall construct-ions and wall coverings.

In every room, and especially in the rooms of dwellings and other places of habitation, a considerable amount of dust. is found. lhis ordinarily settles upon the floor, and in the rugs, carpets or other floor coverings from which it is constantly being raised as the occupants move about. Some of this dust is deposited upon the walls where it is difficult of removal and unsightly in appearance.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a wall construct-ion or covering which shall act as a dust collector in which the dust shall remain hidden, until removed.

Another object of my invention is to provide a wall construction or covering which shall act to collect the dust and which shall be of such construction that the dust collected thereby can be very quickly, easily and thoroughly removed.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a wall construction which shall aid in the'circulation of air and in the proper ventilation of the room.

Again there are many places in homes and other buildings where a paneled wall having a wall covering isdesired. While one of the objects of such an arrangement is the production of an artistic effect, another and quite as important an object, is the provision of a permanent or semi-permanent covering. Such a covering is much desired for the walls of vestibules, stairways, and also on walls, generally, commencing at or near the floor and extending upwardly therefrom, above a line where it is likely to be rubbed or brushed by occupants or by household objects. I

It is an object of my invention to provide a wall covering of a substantially permanent character, and a method of applying same whereby relative movement of the wall and covering, as when the wall cracks or settles,

may take place without injuring the wall covering.

Again it is an object of my invention to provide a wall covering that can be affixed to the wall with a minimum number of fastening devices thereby better enabling relative movement of the wall and covering to take place and also reducing the time required for the application thereof.

A further object of my invention is to provide a wall covering which can be produced in a relatively cheap manner; which can be applied quickly and easily; which shall be capable of being finished in a va riety of ways to produce artistic effects and which shall be practically indestructible.

My invention consists, generally, in a wall construction and covering, whereby the above named objects, together with others that will appear hereinafter are attainable, and my invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate what 1 consider, at the present time, to be the preferred embodiment thereof.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a panel wall construction embodying my invention.

Fig. 2, is a section taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3, is an enlarged section substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4, is an enlarged section, substantially on the line l4.- of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5, is a detail face view of a portion of wall covered with material embodying my invention 5 Fig. 6, is a view substantially on the line 66 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7, is a vertical sectional view of my wall construction as designed to facilitate ventilation; and

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 88 of Fig. 7.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, 2 represents the base board of a wall and which is shown simply to typify the environment. 8

represents vertical strips, and, i, horizontal strips which are secured to the wall, 5, and which thereby divide it into a number of panels. 6, represents a wall covering which may be of size to cover several of the panels, but which preferably is of a size suiiicient only for a single panel and which,

in fact, is'partly-held in place by; thevertical and horizontal strips, .3, and 4:, respectively, to be described in detail hereinafter.

As stated, in the opening of the specification, Iaim to provide a wall covering which shall be of such a nature that the wall may come or go, i. e., crack or settle without at fecting the covering. To this end, I provide a covering which while somewhat fiexible, is nevertheless, in a sense, self-support? ing. The material which I prefer to use is a woven product composed'iof spaced supports or stakes, 7, over and under which. filler strands8', are woven. This material may be formed of different products, but one very suitablaproduct is paper which is twisted and' properlysized andwhich is commonly known. as fibre reed. Natural-reed :may also be..used,. but. is usually less desirable than fibre reed fOI2-tl16 reason that it is likely, especially indry atmospheres, to chip and craclrwhereas the. fibre reed-is of a much. morefiex-ible and less easily brolren'nature; Thestakes'? may be likewise-formed" of twisted. paper, or: of reader other material,

but,hbeca;use of the requirements for a wall covering, I prefer to form the stake with a metall core 7" around which the. paper is. twisted. Theresultingstakes, therefore, correspond somewhat to a beam andacts asa support I for: the. filler strands. That; is to say-,the stakes. while bendable, are, at the.

which I have designed forithis purpose, and.

it is usually formed in, sizes sufficient, to. cover a number of panelsand'then out into the. pieces of such size as to correspond to the size of the panel in which it isto; be.

placed. When the material is out ready for application to the panel, it containsyala'rge: number of loose. ends 9 (see Fig. 5)- which. are unsightly and which, unless. confined,

would permit of the fabric unraveling; I confinethe end portionsof the fabric and,.at the same time, hide them by undercutting the strips 3 and a, as indicated at 10 and 11, respectively, in Figs. 2, 3, and a. The cut.- away portion of the strips 3 and 4: is just sufficient snugly to accommodate the material between the outer surface of the wall andthe adjacent part of the strip. The panelqof material, 6, is thus held along four of its edges which confinement is practically suflicient to-hold the panelin place because of thecharacteristics of the stake and strand material before described. It will be observedfthat, as here shown, no fastening deheretofore devised.

necessary fromtime to time to accommodate back to its proper position at which time. it passes-over thestaple thereby hiding it and;

forming a blind fastener. By fasteningv the covering material inv thismanner, its beauty as a woven material remains unimpaired and-1t can be. painted, tinted, or otherwise finished in any desiredmanner.

so secure. the covering to the wall. as to prevent the relative movement of wall and. covering, before described, for-the staple can very-readily move upwardly or down wardlyupon the stake. In the. first. place,

it may move practically. the thicknessof the filler strand before engaging any of the, filler strands'and then even further move.-

It. should. be understood that the staples 12 do not;

ment-may be permittedby a. slight shifting of the adjacent filler strands. Such extreme.

movement,3however, would hardly be encountered inpractice.

Itlwill bev noted that the-surface of the; wallvmay, if it is:a plaster; wall, beleft;

with a rough finish, as indicated at 13- in Figs. 2: and 6, thus eliminatingthe necessity" of. applying the usual smoothing or finishcoat-of plaster. lVhile. the stakes are. shown: in the drawings, as being vertically peel-- tioned, and while this generally .is the. preferable; position they may, if, so. desired, be.

horizontally disposed, in which event. the filler; strands would occupy a vertical position. 7 supporting the. fillerstrands and resulting in a relativelynon-collapsible though flex! ible. fabric"which when appliedas awall covering in the manner stated, overcomes many of the ObJGGlZlODS inherent 111; semipermanent. or permanent wall coverings. Because of the lack of a better term for the means of; fastening; the covering material to the, wall inv such In either event, theyact: aswbeamsp,

manner as; to permit. relative movement of1 the parts, I shallhereinafter refer thereto, as ayieldable fastening orgasyieldably holding the covering againstthe wall.

In addition to providin a fiexiblecon struction, the many stranc s of the woven fabric, which provide. a'relatively open weave, act admirably, as a dust collector.

for as the-air circulatesv the dust particles.

areentrapped by. the. strands thus freeing;

by the use of a vacuum cleaner.

the air of such particles. Therefore, instead of depositing the dust upon the floor where it would constantly be raised, as in walking, the dust is, collected upon the wall surface which is not subjected to such action and which, therefore, acts to clarify the air. Because of the character of the covering, a considerable amount of dust can be collected without becoming unsightly. The wall covering, as before stated, is flexibly secured to the wall which fact greatly facilitates the removal of the dust therefrom. Removal can be very easily accomplished As the vacuum cleaner passes over the wall surface, the wall covering, due to its flexible construction, is set into vibration sothat it acts quickly to loosen and shake the dust therefrom so that it may be readily withdrawn by the vacuum device. Obviously, because-of the open character of the weaving, a sufficient volume of air can flow in and behind the strands to enable the proper functioning of the vacuum cleaner.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have illustrated a wall which is constructed of covering materialsuch as converts the wall into a ventilating element. This construction, while not in any sense limited thereto, is especially applicable to the construction of summer homes. In said figures 20 represents the floor, 21. the ceiling, and 22 uprights to which the wall covering is to be secured. These uprights may be formed of two-byfours and braced in the usual or desired manner. On opposite sides, the wall covering material 23 and 24 is provided. This covering material may be secured directly to the uprights 22 as by staples or other fastening devices. The wall covers 23 and 24 are preferably composed of the stake and strand fabric already described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6. This construction in efiect provides a number of vertical ducts 25 through which air entering from the adjoining rooms may pass upwardly into the attic or other space 26 above. Because of the open character of the wall covering, the air may pass freely therethrough resulting in a marked increase in air circulation and hence providing a construction which is especially desirable. The desirable characteristics of the dust collecting and removal are present in this construction as in the other form previously described.

I claim:

1. The herein described improvements in wall covering constructions, embodying therein a wall; a finishing covering therefor composed of a plurality of spaced stakes which in workable lengths have suificient rigidity to be self-supporting and to resist forces tending to bend. abruptly, and filler strands woven over and under said stakes in side by. side contacting relation and being mg said covering against said wall.

2. The herein desc'ibed improvements in wall covering constructions, embodying therein a wall; finishing covering therefor composed of a plurality of spaced vertically positioned stakes which in workable lengths have sui'iicient rigidity to be self-supporting and to resist forces tending to bend abruptly, and horizontally disposed filler strands woven over and under said stakes in side by, side contacting relation and being carried thereby; and means yieldably holding said corering against said wall.

The herein described improvements in wall covering constructions embodying therein a wall; finishing covering therefor composed of a plurality of spaced stakes. composed at least in part of wire, and which in worirable lengths have sufiicient rigidity to beself-supporting and to resist, forces tending to bend abruptly, filler strands woven over and under said stakes in side by side contacting relation and being carried thereby; and means yieldably holding said covering against said wall.

l. The herein described improvements in wall covering constructions, embodying therein a wall, a covering therefor composed of a plurality of spaced stakes which in workable lengths have suflicient rigidity to be self-supporting and to resist forces tending to bend abruptly, and filler strands woven over and under said stakes in side by side contacting relation and carried thereby; and means yieldably holding said covering against said wall, said means in cluding strips secured to the wall and having overhanging flange portions between which and the wall, the edge portions of the fabric are secured.

5. The herein described improvements in wall covering constructions, embodying therein a wall; a coverin therefor composed of a plurality of spaced stakes which in workable lengths have sufiicient rigidity to be self-supporting and to resist forces tending to bend abruptly, and filler strands woven over and under said stakes and being carried thereby; and means yieldablyholding said covering against said wall, said means including fastening devices entering the wall, engaging part of the covering ma terial and being hidden from View by other portions thereof.

6. The herein described improvements in wall covering constructions, embodying therein a wall; a covering therefor, composed of a plurality of spaced stakes which in workable lengths have suiiicient rigidity to be self-supporting to resist forces tending to bend abruptly, and filler strands woven over and under said stakes and being carried thereby; and means yieldably holdmg said covering against said wall, sald Wall covering thereina Wall; a covering therefor cornposed of a plurality of spaced stakes which in workable lengths have suflicient rigidity tofibe self-supporting-and to resist forces means including fastening devices which slidably embrace the stakes and which are rigidly embedded in the vvall. I

7. The herein described improvements in constructions, embodying tending to bend abruptly, and filler strands woven over and under said stakes in side by side contacting relation and carried thereby; andmeans yieldably holding said coveringagainst said Wall, said means including fastening devices embracing the stakes under the filler strands, and being rigidly embedded in the Wall.

8. Tl'i'e'herein described dust collecting wall covering construction embodyingthereinca Wall, a covering therefor composed of spacedfstakesand filler strands Woven over and under said stakes, and means for hold ing'said' covering against said Wall.

spacedstakes and filler strands Woven over and under said stakes, and means for fiexiblyholding said covering against said wall.-

10. Theherein described ventilating Wall construction embodying therein 'iv'a'll fr-am ing members, and a covering secured thereto said covering being composed" of spaced stakes and filler strands Woven over and under said stakes. v y

11. The herein described improvements-in Wall constructlons embodying therein a Wall;

a covering therefor composed ota plurality of relatively rigid stakes, and filler strands having rounded portions, which filler strands are woven over andunder stakes and -be-' ing carried thereby; and means for hold said covermg against said Wall.

' In testimony whereof, Lhave hereunto set 8th day of April, 1920.

my hand, this v a MARSHALL B. LLOYD. 

